Community Service Before Graduation

My delight at reading of Laguna Beach High School’s community service graduation requirement quickly turned to exasperation as I read that funds of $1.6 million have been allocated to cover the cost of staff, training and materials to start community service programs throughout the state.

Community service does not need any of the above. A teen could provide a service by volunteering at a nursing home, hospital or preschool. Service could also take place as unorganized, unsupervised and creative as an individual picking up trash from the beach or running errands for a shut-in.

The purpose of community service is to instill in our youth the concept of giving of oneself for the community, not to financially support the Constitutional Rights Foundation or any bureaucracy.

SUSAN CLEMENTE, Laguna Niguel